[ Released January 21, 1964. Dated January 20, 1964]
Dear Ed:
It is with the greatest reluctance that I yield to your insistence and accept your resignation as Director of the United States Information Agency, effective January 20, 1964.
I respect your feeling that a long convalescence from illness precludes your remaining on the job; the same high sense of duty which brought you to Washington now obliges you to depart. Nonetheless, I must admit I had been hoping you would find it possible to stay on. After your recovery, I will be calling on you for advice and help.
You have done a magnificent job in this post. Your entire life, your eloquence and idealism and sound judgment, your determined drive and sparkling personality all combined to make you superbly qualified for the task of conveying the true picture and purpose of this country to the world. You will be sorely missed.
You leave with the thanks of a grateful President and a grateful Nation. I close, Ed, with a paraphrase of the words you made forever famous on radio and television: "Goodbye, and good luck!"
Sincerely,
LYNDON B. JOHNSON
Note: Mr. Murrow served as Director of the U.S. Information Agency from March 15, 1961, to January 20, 1964. His letter of resignation was released with the President's reply.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Letter Accepting Resignation of Edward R. Murrow as Director, USIA. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/240270